


Grief

by sxetia



Series: Heiress to the Monado [1]
Category: Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: Canon Rewrite, Canonical Character Death mentioned, Character Study, Drabble, Gen, Grief, Inconsequential Canon Divergence, Roleswap, fiora is the heir to the monado, mild xenoblade spoilers, you could look at this through a shippy lens if you wanted to
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:00:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25169584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sxetia/pseuds/sxetia
Summary: Fiora and Reyn make a pact.
Relationships: Fiora & Reyn (Xenoblade Chronicles)
Series: Heiress to the Monado [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1819117
Comments: 3
Kudos: 23





	Grief

“Oy,” Reyn grunted. “...somethin’s up, in’nit?”

Blunt as he may have been, Reyn rarely acted out of any motivation beyond concern and care for others. Fiora had long grown concerned about the implications of having ambitions that revolved _solely_ around others and the validation that came in the company of friends — and was well aware of the hypocrisy in her own worry — but in times when he was needed, Reyn never failed to lend an ear, a shoulder, or a dumb quip and a belly laugh. 

Supper had gone so well, hadn’t it...? Fiora didn’t want to spoil the night’s atmosphere with her own emotional fog. Reyn had invited her and Dunban (who had politely declined) to dinner with his family, who managed to keep such high spirits and optimism even in the wake of Shulk’s death. He had been a part of their family, too, inseparable as he and Reyn had been since childhood. Reyn’s parents and siblings all had a story to share or a fond thought of Shulk’s memory. It was like a eulogy or a proper burial, closure that Fiora never got. 

But it wasn’t enough to heal her.

Fiora forced a smile, though it was far too insincere to fool even Reyn. “Everything’s all right, Reyn. I suppose I’m just thinking, is all.” Hands crept down and slid thumbs into the waistband of her skirt, with green eyes resting on greener grass. The night air was cool and coaxed bumps along her exposed skin. She wished she had brought her old Bunnis-fur coat, or at least dressed more appropriately for the occasion... 

“Thinkin’, eh? ‘Fraid I can’t do much fer’ ya there, ain’t my speciality.” Though she didn’t look at him, Fiora could _feel_ the big, dumb grin on Reyn’s face. It was contagious, and made her own smile a little more sincere. “What’cha got?” 

Her eyes met his towering stature for a second or two before she exhaled and shook her head. “It’s... quite a lot, none of it very important.” 

“We got a bit ‘til we get back to you’n Dunban’s place, don’t we?” It was not rhetorical; Reyn genuinely didn’t know. Fiora nodded affirmatively. “A few minutes’ walk, at this rate.” 

Reyn let a noise rise from inside his chest. “C’mon, then, lay it on me. Ol’ Reyn’s always here when you need ‘im, don’cha know?” 

“Are you certain...?” 

“Certain as the Bionis stands asleep.” 

She chuckled, weary but comforted by the idea of Reyn’s support at all. He was what she aspired to be, in many ways. It showed that he took after her older brother — they were both so _brave_ and unafraid, undaunted by the Mechon and their own selves alike. Such confidence. 

“Well, it’s...” Fiora paused, and shut her eyes. Like a broken record, wasn’t she..? The same thoughts, the same concerns ever since Shulk had died. Everybody said to take her time healing, that it had only been two days and would be ages before she healed. She still wasn’t completely over her parents’ death, and wasn’t even old enough to remember it. 

All she knew was that they were searching for the Monado, which now lay propped against her bedroom wall at Dunban’s house. It connected one loss to the most recent one. She hoped that Dunban wasn’t trying to mess with it and hurt himself further... 

“S’about Shulk, in’nit?” The wisecracking tone in Reyn’s voice was gone, dried up and shriveled away until an uncharacteristic seriousness was all that remained. When Fiora opened her eyes she saw his face steeled and stoic, though the palpable tension in his brow communicated his unease. 

She stopped along the stone path, and Reyn with her. “...yeah. Him, and the Monado, and... all of this. I’ve been thinking about it nonstop ever since it happened — I thought I would be over it whenever I cried it all out, but if anything the thoughts are louder, more overwhelming now.” 

“What’s the thoughts sayin’?” Quick and time the point. Reyn was at his best whenever he was a wall of physical or emotional might, and was well aware of it. 

Fiora shrugged, then bit into her bottom lip. She traced the nighttime sky and the stars that were spattered across it, then placed a hand over the opposite wrist and squeezed. “There’s two halves of me. One’s sad, one’s _so_ sad. I grew up with Shulk. Him and his parents, they were like my second family after Mum and Dad died. I used to have these silly daydreams of marrying him, even when all he did was sit and work on machines all day, or obsess over the Monado...” 

A twitch in her heart and pressure behind her eyes. She found that she was smiling. 

Fiora released a sigh to keep the tears back, and Reyn nodded his head as he took his turn. “Aye, you was like conjoined twins, complete with you grabbin’ onto his wrist’n draggin’ him around all the time. All three of us were, ‘n Dunban always had to try’n undo the knots between us.” A bitter look crossed his face as he let his fingers run through rust-colored waves. “He wos’ my best buddy. Still is, in me heart. Feels like I done failed me job, lettin’ himself go on’n get killed.” 

The loss was equally hard on both of them. Guilt at her selfishness pressed down on Fiora’s shoulders. “It isn’t your fault, Reyn... you did everything in your power to keep him safe until the very end. He isn’t—...” Pursed lips. “...wasn’t the type to hold a grudge, either.” 

Reyn shrugged broad shoulders. “Yeah, maybe. I am, though.” Bitter, bitter. Fiora could taste it on her teeth, and sullenly nodded in agreement. “That’s... how I feel, too. The other part of me feels like I’ve failed, that I have to take responsibility for his death. I—... I want to make things right, more than I want anything else on all of Bionis short of having him back.” 

Fingers clasped over her own chest, and she tugged anxiously at her necklace. “I want... to make things right. To settle the score and make the Mechon pay for Shulk’s death, and to know that nobody else on Bionis will have to feel that pain anymore, or live their lives in fear. We have a right to exist, and everything within me is pushing those thoughts forward into my mind...” 

Reyn wrinkled his nose and looked down at Fiora. She could catch the faintest glimmer of the stars reflecting off the moisture in his eyes. “S’just like you, Fiora. Feelin’ so concerned for others that you’ll feel th’need to act on stuff that ain’t even your fault.” He thumped a thumb against his chest plate. “Heart’s too big for the world it’s beatin’ in. I don’t see how y’can live with it.” 

“It’ll kill me if I let it sit here and rot away inside.” When Fiora grazed her own chest , her heart stood still and ached with the agony of loss. “It feels as if something terrible has been placed within me, and I need to get it out...” 

Reyn shook his head. “S’grief. You can’t let it take over, ‘cos if you do—...” 

“It’s more than that, Reyn,” Fiora said without realizing she was saying it. Reyn raised his brows and quirked his lips. “I... I _have_ to do something about this. I’m telling you because I trust you and I want you to know what’s happened to me.” She swallowed, throat dry as ever. “I... I’m going to Mechonis. I’m going to stop the Mechon myself—...” 

“Are you mad!?” Reyn borderline-shouted as he reached out to grab both of Fiora’s shoulders, fingertips sinking deep into clammy skin. “You can’t just go an’ take on th’ whole of ‘em, they’ll eat you for tea jus’ like they did Shulk...! Even Dunban couldn’t—“

“Keep your voice down,” Fiora hissed. “It’s late. People will hear us. And... let go of me.” He did, and she looked nervously over her shoulder before continuing. “I know even Dunban can’t take on the Mechon alone, but... I’m not Dunban. Using the Monado doesn’t hurt me like it does him, and if I take it with me those visions will keep me safe...” 

She sounded far, far too idealistic for her own liking. Fiora understood the gravity of the situation and what she was committing to, but something within her urged her onwards. She couldn’t let her uncertainty be shown. 

Reyn stared with a stern look, then simply asked: “You ain’t changin’ her mind, are ya?” 

She shook her head. “I decided the instant I saw Shulk’s guts all over the ground, Reyn. It’s taken me a few days to build up the courage to actually do it — I still don’t fully have it, to be honest with you, but now that I’ve told you I _have_ to go through with it, so...” 

He brought two calloused fingers to his eyes and wiped them, before taking a deep breath and offering his own commitment. “I’m goin’ with you.” 

The hairs on the end of Fiora’s neck stood up straight. “What!?” 

“I already let one best buddy die, I ain’t about t’let my other best buddy die too. If I can’t protect Shulk no more I’ll make up fer’ it by keepin’ you safe, instead.” Reyn crinkled his lips. “You were special to ‘im, Fiora. He woulda wanted me to.” 

Silence, awestruck, the wind in her hair and the taste of the air before rain in her open mouth. “...Reyn, you don’t have to—“

“You ain’t gotta go either, but you are, ain’t ya?” 

“I... I guess so.” 

Reyn nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. “See? Protectin’ Colony 9 ‘n all th’folk I care about here’s why I joined th’Force in th’first place. No better way t’keep’m safe than cuttin’ up the threat right at th’source, now is ‘ere?” 

She smiled, a weary and exhausted smile, but a genuine one. “I suppose not. I plan on leaving tomorrow come nightfall — I’ll get my things ready and take the Monado with me. I suggest you do the same and bring your best Driver...” 

“Best one I’ve got’s th’one Shulk made fer’ me. It’ll be kinda like takin’ a piece’a him with me.” He offered his own grin, a more sincere and sensitive one than his usual joker’s beam. 

Fiora looked down and then grazed her necklace again before she began to walk forwards. “...I’m... I’m not going to tell Dunban. He wouldn’t have it, and he might even try to take the Monado away from me... which I can’t have. I _need_ it.” 

Reyn followed. “What about me folks...? I can’t just leave ‘em in th’dark.” 

“You’ll have to, I’m afraid. We can’t have anybody know we’re leaving until we’re long gone.” 

“Can I at least leave a note or somethin’? Jus’ t’be cordial?” 

“...That should be fine. Just don’t say what path we’ve left on...”

“I dunno what path we’ll even be usin’, Fiora. S’your mission, so I’m followin’ you...” 

“Makes sense,” she nodded. “I’ve been studying Dunban’s maps nonstop. I think the best way would be up the Leg and through the Lungs, then across Sword Valley...” Sword Valley, where Dunban had lost his arm over a year ago. Perhaps a similar fate awaited Fiora there, too. The thought wasn’t as daunting as it should have been. 

Reyn listened intently, but silently. She wasn’t convinced he had ever left the Bionis’ foot at all. She hardly had, herself. 

Soon they were once again outside Dunban’s home, and their trip had come to an end. Fiora stared up at the light in the top floor bedroom which showed that Dunban was wide awake, probably waiting on her to bring home game from her hunt to cook. She hoped whoever would take are of Dunban in her stead would be a good caregiver. 

“This is it, huh...?” Reyn asked, a hand on the back of his neck. 

Fiora nodded. “Indeed, it is. I suppose I’ll meet you tomorrow evening.” 

“Where at?” 

“Here’s fine, just outside my home. Trying to find a good meetup spot would just mean trouble, as it would mean carrying the Monado through town, and...” 

“Gotcha. I’ll... see you then, Fiora. Take care’a yourself ‘til then, aye?” 

“I’ll try. And... Reyn?” 

“Yeh?” 

Fiora stepped forward to wrap her arms around him and squeeze as hard as she could (not very hard, as she’d always been a weakling since childhood), ear against his chest. She could hear the strong _ba-bump_ of his heartbeat, and the surprised inhale when she embraced him. “Thank you — for everything. I’m blessed to call you a friend.” 

It took a second, but he placed his hands upon her back and returned the hold as daintily as he possibly could. She was like a doll. “Feelin’s mutual, Fiora.”

* * *

Twenty-four hours later Fiora emerged from her home with the Monado hanging off her back and a knapsack over her shoulder, Reyn lying in wait with his driver strapped to his arm and a massive rucksack slung around his waist. 

They left their home in hopes they would never have to leave again — to protect their destiny.


End file.
